Fencing of Mt Kenya Forest faces hurdle over boundary

By WAINAINA NDUNGU

Meru, Kenya: A community in Tharaka Nithi County is threatening to disrupt the construction of the Mt Kenya Forest fence over a 12-kilometre strip of forest land they claim was originally their farmland.

The Atiriri Bururi Ma Chuka Trustees want the agencies in charge of the conservation area and the Rhino Ark Trust, which installs and manages the fence, to keep off the disputed section of the forest.

The second phase of the fencing of the 450km forest perimeter is expected to commence in the next two months after the completion of the first phase covering 50 kilometres.

In a letter to the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) and Kenya Forest Service (KFS), which jointly manage the forest, the elders from Chuka community claim that they have not been consulted about fencing of the area between rivers Thuci on the  Tharaka Nithi –Embu county border and River Nithi in Meru South.

“The Njuri Ncheke (Meru Council of Elders) has already agreed with the claim that the area between the two rivers belong to the Atiriri Bururi ma Chuka. We request that the KWS do allow the Njuri Ncheke to show them the boundary between Magundu (disputed land) and the forest reserve,” says the letter.

PENDING CLAIM

In the letter signed by Ngai Mutoboro (chairman), Gitonga Mbogo (secretary) and Mutegi Ntabaru (vice chairman), the group proposed that the fence be erected 12 kilometres inside the forest, steering clear of the disputed area.

Rhino Ark’s Aberdare and Mt Kenya Fence Manager Adam Mwangi assured the community that the fencing will not affect their pending claim.

“Our organisation has no mandate to decide where the forest boundaries are and we are only guided by beacons erected by Government agencies,” said Mwangi. “We want to assure the community that erection of the fence is not a boundary matter. The fence can be shifted when the dispute is amicably resolved.”

Mwangi, however, said he had previosuly gotten the impression that the matter had been settled after the elders raised it during a community sensitisation workshop at the Chuka University last year.

KFS Eastern Conservancy Director Samuel Ihure admitted that the group raised their objections at the Chuka University, but added the leaders’ had resolved that the complaint be lodged with the National Land Commision (NLC) and the boundary be adjusted if the petition was successful.

“As far as we are concerned, the fence will be erected at the boundary of the community forest, which has been in existence since 1940. This is a gazzetted forest with clear boundaries,” said Ihure.

Attempts to reach KWS Mountain Conservancy Director Aggrey Maumo were unsuccessful as he did not answer his phone.

But Mutuboro accused “young” provincial administrators in the area of seeking to “bury the issue” yet the boundary dispute dated back to the colonial era.

The elders claim that the colonial government convinced their ancestors to move back from their land neighbouring the forest during the Mau Mau war in the guise of protecting them, only to make it part of the  forest.

FENCE LINE COMMUNITIES

According to the Rhino Ark officers, the fencing of Mt Kenya forest, which was launched in 2012, will border off over 2,700 square kilometres with a 450km long fence.

Mwangi said the organisation is currently completing Phase One,  a50km stretch covering forests in Kirinyaga and Embu counties, while mobilising the community for start of the Phase Two, covering Tharaka Nithi and Meru counties.

“Rhino Ark has ensured that a fence maintenance team is drawn from the fence-line community ensuring their ownership of the project,” said Mwangi.

As one of key principles in all Rhino Ark fences, the Mt Kenya Electric Fence is being built by members of forest adjacent communities under the supervision of a technical team from KWS.

Alongside the building of the fence, Rhino Ark supports conservation education projects in local schools.